Experiment
by GrandTouring
Summary: The test was simple - two mammals would be confined in a room for 48 hours, in order to see how they react. Nick and Judy participate in the experiment, and they are both put in the same room. It doesn't take very long to find that they have feelings for each other. The question is, will they admit them, or will they pass up the opportunity? WildeHopps one-shot from 2016.


**A/N: Hello! This is just a little one-shot that I made when I was working on other projects, all the way back in 2016. Well, I say "little", it might be a bit longer than your normal one-shot. It's not really anything major. Just a story for all the shippers.**

 **This idea came to fruition when I was browsing album covers, and I came across the "Recovery" (Eminem album) alternate cover. You'll best understand it if you type in "Recovery alternate cover" in Google. It's a strange place to get an idea, but hey, it works.**

 **I hope you enjoy! Now I'll leave you alone.**

* * *

 **The Room**

"Exactly what is this?" Typical Nick. If he wasn't on his phone while the experiment was being discussed beforehand, then maybe he wouldn't be asking that question. As far as he knew, he was only following Judy into this strange room because she was the one that told him to.

"That's the first thing you say the second we walk into the room?" As usual, Judy was the one with common sense.

The experiment was simple – study the effects and behavior of two animals after they are stuck together in one room for about 48 hours. Cameras are set up in corners to track activity. Everybody thought that the participants would go insane. Especially since most of the combinations weren't exactly the best of friends. Might be a coincidence that Nick and Judy got paired together. Possibly not.

"Yes, it is." Nick replied. "What did I tell you? Sly fox, dumb bunny." Nick had this arrogant flair to his voice.

"Why did I get chosen with you…?" Judy muttered under her breath. "That doesn't even fit with the situation!"

"Okay, maybe 'sly fox' doesn't, but 'dumb bunny' does."

They both knew why they were here together.

She loved him.

He loved her.

It was pretty obvious at this point. They've never talked to each other about it. Rumors spread like wildfire in a city like Zootopia. By now, everybody was waiting and debating on who would make the first move. So when this experiment was announced, you could imagine how giddy everyone got when Nick and Judy were chosen. There was an entire scandal about it, because that information should have been locked behind a non-disclosure agreement of some sorts. Nobody was sure _who_ revealed the information, but it passed quickly.

The room itself was a simple apartment room. The only difference was that the doors and windows were protected with strong glass. There was plenty of food that would last them two days. That is, if one of the participants wouldn't go into a furious rage and eat all of it.

For entertainment purposes, other than the participants' phone (that is, if they had one), there was a TV and a collection of books. No one really questioned how they had hooked up the TV in the first place, especially since the room was protected with glass, but then again, no one really seemed to care about it.

The internet connection was horrible though, which rendered the phone nearly useless. The two participants would have to rely on each other for any sort of interaction. That's what you should expect when you're trapped in a room made out of glass.

"If this is a luxury apartment, then why is there only one bed?" Nick failed to see the obvious. There wasn't enough space in the room for two beds.

He just couldn't bring himself to do it. The reaction, the media, and they would be exposed all over Zootopia. And while some people were waiting for it to happen, for example, Clawhauser, the majority of Zootopia has never liked interspecies relationships. Why, exactly? There were many reasons, but I'd prefer not to go over them. It's a bit of a long list.

 _This is the perfect environment, so you might as well go for it._ His mind kept telling him that.

"So...tell me, exactly what is there to do in here?" Nick just kept talking.

"Nick, calm down. You've said more words than I have." Judy wanted him to shut up. "It's certainly much better than living under a bridge."

Nick rolled his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you should be thankful that you're at least in an apartment."

"That isn't mine. When this is over, I might just go back to the bridge again."

Judy just gave up. There was no point in arguing with him. She had already taken long enough to realize that.

Judy had dragged him into this, so maybe that was why he was asking that. _It'll be interesting_ , she said. He honestly didn't care. He just went along with it. Which, now that she thought about it, was out of character. With a guy like Nick, he'd usually come up with a reason to not do it.

"So, what to do first?" With only a few options at their disposal, it was hard to decide on what they could do.

Or, if they wanted to go to extreme measures, they could create and escape plan and run out of there, which was impossible until their 48 hours was up. The people conducting the experiment had made sure not to allow easy access to things that could break the glass. They could use their fists, sure, but that would take a while.

"Ah, I don't know, maybe you could cook some food. I'm starving."

Judy chuckled. "Of course you are."

"Uh, you didn't stop to consider the problem here?"

 _Wait, what?_ Judy thought.

"What is it?"

"I'm a predator, you're a prey. Do you think that maybe they could have catered to only one animal?"

Oops.

This wasn't unheard of. From the research that she had done on this experiment, which had been performed in the past, if the participants were predator and prey, other than the predator trying to kill the prey, another method of death is the starvation of the either prey or predator. So they were lucky if there was enough food for Judy.

It had been about 30 minutes since the experiment began, and there were already problems.

They had 47 hours and 30 minutes to confess to each other. And they weren't sure if that was going to happen.

* * *

 _ **12:00 PM**_

Nobody had made a move yet.

Thankfully, the two found food that would appeal to Judy. However, after that, they weren't as hungry.

Nick begrudgingly watched whatever TV was on. He'd prefer to watch the news, but they weren't on at this time.

Judy didn't seem to care about the TV in the background. She was reading – what, a romance novel?

 _That explains the blushing._ Nick thought.

 _Wait. She's blushing. If I surprise her when she's blushing, I can go in for the kill._

 _Nick, you sly fox._ Nick couldn't help but credit himself. It was a clever idea. He just needed to figure out what to do.

Judy blushed again, this time mumbling "Oh my…" This is it.

"Uh, Carrots?"

Judy screamed in surprise and closed the book. She was now blushing more than ever. "W-what?"

Without any warning, Nick put his paws on her cheeks. "I think I love you." Those were the last words that he said before he closed his eyes and moved his face forward to kiss her.

"Nick!"

Nick opened his eyes. His face was close to Judy's. Nick screamed. _Please don't tell me that was a dream._

"Daydreaming again, huh?"

Now it was Nick that was blushing. _You could've kissed her._ There she was, reading the same novel, the same one that she had in his dream.

And all it took was his name to interrupt what could've been the best dream that anyone could have. The wave of embarrassment was huge. He had to be alone for a second. "Look, I'll be in the kitchen. I guess you could call it that."

* * *

Judy had forgotten that they were in a glass apartment for a while. She was caught up in this compelling romance novel. There wasn't anything to read in the pile other than that. Hell, she didn't notice that she was blushing the first few times.

She couldn't help but notice the noises that Nick was making during his dream. They were soft and high-pitched. His face was also suspiciously close to hers. That's when Judy was pulled back into reality.

To admit it, she had been curious to know what his dreams were about. He's been having dreams for the past week or so.

Judy was relieved when Nick excused himself to the kitchen. It left them time to think about their thoughts.

 _Does Nick like me?_ That question had been bugging her for the past two weeks. Sure, it was obvious to the city (and pretty much all over the world), but it wasn't to her. He kept it hidden pretty well. In retrospect, she could have let him kiss her. Even if he was in a dream state. _Okay, Judy, that's a bit strange._ Her instincts got the better of her, and she dispelled what could've been a great moment.

At this point, she didn't care about the reaction or the backlash. The results. She could get fired from her job, prejudiced by her family. That didn't stop her. _Never let them see that they get to you,_ Nick would say. She didn't. She just wanted to tell him this.

 _I love you, Nick, and I'll prove it to you before the day is over._

* * *

 _What the hell was that?_

Tears were flowing down his face, and he had no idea why. This wasn't like himself. This wasn't the sly and sarcastic fox that she was used to. She's changing him.

"Why do I even try?" Nick whispered to himself. Judy probably heard that. She probably just didn't want to say anything.

If he wasn't so afraid, then he would've kissed her. Then embarrassment got in the way.

He wouldn't give up, though. He was determined to let her know about his feelings. And possible feelings of lust. Well, regardless of the reaction, he would let her know this.

 _Carrots, I love you._

* * *

 _ **11:30 PM.**_

They were wondering why they were still awake. Granted, none of the other participants were sleeping, but usually, a bunny would be sleeping at this time. Nick, as usual, was wide awake.

Nick and Judy were just sitting on the couch, like they were almost 12 hours ago. Only this time, there wasn't a book in Judy's hands. They were just watching TV.

The tension was bigger than ever. It was there before, but now that they were sitting together – without anything to distract them from each other – it was multiplied by a million.

They had another chance, but missed out. It was about 2 in the afternoon – they were just talking to each other. They seemed to forget about the incident that happened earlier.

" _This whole thing hasn't made me go insane yet. That's what they told me. That I would go insane." They were just sitting at the table in the kitchen, waiting for Nick's lunch – Judy had already eaten. To wait it out, Nick drank his signature cup of coffee._

" _Well, I guess the behavior varies." Judy responded_.

 _Naturally, Judy assumed it was her turn to ask a question. A question that Nick didn't expect._

" _Why do you think they put us together?"_

 _Silence._

 _Nick was lucky that he swallowed his coffee before she asked that._

 _All he could do was blush and just look at Judy. His blush was barely noticeable under his red fur._

 _What was about a minute of silence felt like an eternity._

 _Judy was expecting a response. She was expecting to repeat what happened in his dream, whatever happened in it._

 _Did he kiss me? Judy thought._

 _Ding!_

" _Oh, my lunch is ready." Nick sighed. He just didn't have an answer. Or he did. He couldn't decide._

Nick needed to start a conversation. That would've at least gotten him somewhere.

"So…Carrots…how was your day?"

Okay, he had better questions, but he was too shy to say them.

"It was okay. I'm honestly not seeing the point of this…"

He couldn't help but agree, even though he said something similar to that earlier. Redundancy got the best of them.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I've been a little bit stressed."

Finally, some behavioral effects. They were minor, but they were still effects.

"Oh, well, why is that?"

Nick to come up with a lie, and quick. He didn't want to do this, but in some situations like this, he couldn't help it.

"Well, what if we're the only participants that didn't kill their roommate?" A bit dark, but it did start a conversation.

However, they both realized that this isn't getting them anywhere. If they wanted each other to know that they love them, they were going to have to go in, head on.

"Judy?"

Judy blushed. Usually, when Nick calls him by her name, he's being serious. She's not used to it, because he mostly calls her by "Carrots". It was something that she got used to quickly.

"Uh, yeah?"

"I've been meaning to tell you something…"

"So have I."

They were both blushing. Just looking forward at the TV. There were thoughts going through their heads.

 _What is it?_

 _She loves me? Or not?_

 _Dammit, does he love me?_

After they got their thoughts together, there was only one thing going through their minds.

 _Fuck it._

In a quick motion, Nick and Judy turned to face each other, ready to confess to each other.

"Judy, I love you!"

"Nick, I love you!"

They said that at the same time. Their names weren't clear, but there were those three words that they could both hear.

Nick put his hand behind Judy's head, and pulled her in for a kiss. They couldn't believe it. It was actually happening. They had now completely forgotten that they were even in a experiment to begin with. They were in their own private world now.

What was about 30 seconds felt like an eternity. They finally pulled apart, still in their own private world.

"I've been waiting for that for a while now." Nick said, after a few seconds of staring into each other's eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I don't have an answer for that." Nick replied in his signature sarcastic voice.

"Oh, you sly fox."

They were both overwhelmed with joy. There were grins on their faces. They finally looked away from each other.

"Well, looks like the experiment has some effects." Nick said.

"And what are the effects?"

"Well, this isn't really an effect, but I guess we've finally answered a question that's been on the city's mind for a while now." Nick grinned.

Judy chuckled and yawned. "I love you, Nick." She said before going to sleep.

"I love you too, Carrots."

* * *

 **(A/N: That will do it for this one-shot! I don't know, for my first fanfiction that's focused on Nick and Judy, I think I did good. Let me know if you liked it. Drop some criticism for me through a PM, or review. Anything helps!**

 **Thanks for reading!)**

 **Hey there. GrandTouring from 2018 here. I decided to go back to this story and edit it a bit. Looking back on it, I realized how much I loved it and how important it is to me. I just wanted to thank the people that still follow me, even after an entire year of absence. I hope I can get something out to you people soon, but I can't promise it.**

 **Thank you so much :)**

 **Oh, and I might continue this. I'm not sure how, but maybe it'll happen. I'm not following the one-shot format, but I might think of something.**


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